This week's lessons seem to be a lot about "PERCEPTIONS" and how we see things. Our filters, pre-conceived ideas, and past experiences really affect our thinking.
Example: Yesterday I went to the lighting shop. I selected 34 exterior fixtures for the new house. I stayed within the lower price range and thought I was doing OK. The total estimate was over twice my budget. All night I was trying to figure out how to cut the price in half. This morning I looked at more lights on line. Even the plastic ones would still put me 35% over the budget. Frustration. Then I looked at that budget line again. It was actually three times what I read yesterday! I had read the wrong line. WOW did my perception change instantly! Major stress relief. Why? My PERCEPTION. The conditions did not change at all - my thoughts did.
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This morning while I met with a cabinet designer, Doc went for breakfast. Then he went to the 99¢ Store where he found 2 pennies and a quarter (Coins #1-3).
Doc and I had planned to go out and have some fun this afternoon. Instead I got a dose of Insurance Overload. There was progress on the Insurance issues for the Duarte flood. There were insurance issues on another property. The insurance payment was due for another property. The loan processors needed proof of insurance on our current house (easy) and our rentals and on and on … For six solid hours I was scrambling and making calls! There were time zone issues (Tennesse calls), agents who could not get to their office due to washed out roads, persons out on holiday, etc. etc. There were about 15 issues which needed to come together to get that loan information completed today. By 5 PM, with angelic intervention, those papers were all in hand!
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At 6 pm Doc and I headed out. My objectives were to get a printer cartridge and coins. Doc’s objectives were grocery shopping and dinner. We accomplished all of those.
The first stop was the office supply store for the printer cartridge. I told Doc, “I was there yesterday, so not too likely to find coins there.” I walked in to instantly find a penny in the entryway. Angels were laughing. Then another penny while shopping. (Coins #4&5)
Doc wandered next door to the pharmacy purely to look for coins. I found one among the boxes of candy under the cash register counter. (Coin #6). There was one penny at Trader Joe’s where we were grocery shopping. (Coin #7). At the next grocery store there were lots of coins: 6 P, 2 N, 1 D, 1 Q in various places. (Coins #8-17). A Hit for the Cycle at that stop alone!
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Then Doc said, “We just need one little dime to have a DOUBLE Hit for the Cycle”. That triggered PENNY FEVER! We stopped at the 7-11 on the way home. Merely one penny. (Coin #18) Then I walked the drive thru of the El Pollo Loco for one penny (Coin #19).
By then Doc and I had a raging case of Penny Fever. We were laughing ourselves silly. We were determined to get that dime! We were like grade school kids on a scavenger hunt! Doc suggested going into the Target to hunt. As we approached the store I repeated (out loud): dime, dime, dime, dime probably 100 times. While Doc went to the bathroom I searched the coffee and snack shop area. I looked very carefully throughout the entire area - twice. Just as I was leaving, I spotted something under the counter hidden from view by the leg of the display. It looked irregular, but I got closer. Rats. Only a penny. But I kneeled down and retrieved it. I walked away to find Doc. Opened my hand to reveal a DIME!. (Coin #20) Don’t ask me how it changed. Doc gave me a penny from his pocket and asked me to do that for his coins too!
Doc then spotted a quarter in a check out lane. But it was too awkward to dash into the line, so we continued searching closed check out lanes. I found two beautiful shiny coins. One penny and a one cent French Euro coin. (Coins #21&22)
We bought a $1 item and went through the line in the proper direction. I picked up the quarter (Coin #23) while Doc paid. Then I looked beside me at a closed register and found an additional two pennies and a quarter (Coins #24-26).
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Enough! Time to go home, have a glass of wine, and let this Penny Fever subside!
Total: 26 Coins P (17), N (2), D (2), Q (4) = $1.47 + 1P French Euro
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